Have you heard the old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child?” Even in today’s busy world where villages are almost nonexistent and neighborhoods aren’t as closely knit as they once were, this saying holds true. The same principle applies to your child’s education—it takes more than a good school to educate children, just as takes more than a good home to make children well adjusted. It takes community, teachers, and it takes YOU! Did you know that children spend over 1,000 hours a year in school? So, if they go to school for 13 years, that adds up to 13,000 hours when someone else teaches, influences, molds and cares for your children. But, if parents and schools work together, children can grow up as educated, competent and productive members of our society. So how can you help your children in school? One of the main ways is to get take an active role at home and at school. Research shows that children do better in school when parents talk often with teachers and become involved. Kids whose parents interact with teachers usually get higher grades and test scores, develop positive attitudes about school, and are better behaved. Parents and teachers need to communicate on a regular basis, not just at parent/teacher conferences. But sometimes, a parent doesn’t know just how to go about getting involved or how to make that positive connection with the teacher and/or school. So, where do you start? It is best to try and meet teachers early in the school year. This will help the teacher better understand your values, your child, and also lets them know that you support your child’s education. Teachers like to have parents who are interested in a child’s progress. If you are involved in school activities and events you will have added chances to talk with you children’s’ teachers. Becoming involved in PTO, PTA, and Booster Clubs also gives you a change to get to know the teachers better. On top of that, involvement in groups related to the school give you a chance to have some say in the decisions that may affect your children. You don’t have to be involved in everything. Choose something that is manageable and give it your all. Another good investment in your child’s education is to volunteer. What you do will depend on the needs at your school and your abilities, but usually the possibilities are endless.
Homeschooling offers students a more time efficient education that allows the student to focus on education in which is the sole purpose for school. Homeschooling also gives the teacher a thorough evaluation of a student’s strengths and weaknesses by visually seeing what subjects they excel in and what subjects they are weak in. At this point students can increase their individual progression in each subject. Homeschooling permits control of the environment a student learns in to retain the focus of the student. This will reduce the chances of drug usage, bullying, and violence. Samuel Blumenfeld said this on the importance of homeschooling “The home is a safe haven for the children in a world awash with drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, and moral corruption” (Cindy Mur et al.76). When parents come to realize that the home is the safest place for their children, then will they act as Blumenfeld concludes “I look forward to the day when the public schools will be virtually empty not because we have abolished public education but because the parents will have abandoned it” (Cindy Mur et al.
Decades of research proves partnerships between schools and families not only enhance children’s learning and achievement, it is also mutually beneficial to the families and educators. As an early childhood educator, my philosophy is rooted in establishing and maintaining a strong and effective partnership with families and communities that can help children and their families thrive. My approach focuses on effective communication between family and school, respect for diversity, and promoting learning at home.
Many parents have multiple children, while working a nine to five job, attending family activities and meetings, and staying on top of bills and home duties. Family life can get hectic and parents may not take the time to realize their importance in their child’s academics. Some parents may be too busy, and others may simply not care, but their involvement in their children’s life is essential. Whether parents or children realize it, involvement of parents in children’s lives positively affects their children’s academic success at all grade levels, including elementary, high school, and even college.
It is when the family is involvement in the child’s education. Participation can include attending school functions, helping for assignments at home, positive feedback about education, and volunteering in the school or classroom. The main thing is being an advocate for your child and their school. According to the article by A. Driscoll/N.G Nagel, significant research over at least 25 years has demonstrated that “family involvement is critical to the educational success of children”. IT means families work together with care givers and teachers to create an atmosphere that strengthens the child’s learning at school and in the home. The importance of family involvement is the environmental, economic, and social factors have the most powerful effect on student
Family involvement today goes far beyond attending parent-teacher conferences, awards ceremonies, and chaperoning on school field trips. Educator’s expectations for parental involvement has changed, and there is a plethora of research that proves that involvement of parents in early childhood education is essential to the success of students. Research points to the following three points as the main reasons why parental involvement in early childhood education is important and beneficial:
Parent involvement is a major topic of concern among policy makers, educators, and researchers (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, & Maritato, 1997; Rouse & Barrow, 2006; Young, Austin, & Growe, 2013) for more than 20 years. School districts, educational leaders, and researchers all agree with the premise that strong school-family partnerships improve children’s learning and outcomes. Parents and schools, separately or together, represent noteworthy influences on the essential sources of support for children’s learning and development. Children develop within multiple contexts, and development and learning are optimal when effective networks and permanencies among these systems are created. Semke and Sheridan (2012) affirm methods
This website magazine article informs the viewer on why parent involvement in schools are important, and what parents and teachers can do to become involved in the schools.
Parental involvement promotes the social growth of a child. Children whose parents are involved in their education have many advantages. They have better grades, test scores, long-term academic achievement, attitudes and behavior than those with disinterested mothers and fathers (Gestwicki, 2001). Parents becoming involved in their child's schooling creates extra sources of social constraint to influence the child's behavior (McNeal, 2001). For example, parents talking to their children and becoming involved in the school conveys a message to the child of education being important. Parents should be talking with your children's teacher and letting her know about your family. The more she knows about your child, the better she will be able to connect with your child.
When it comes to parental involvement, most people agree with the “why”; it’s the “how” that poses the challenge. The vast majority of parents want to be involved, but face significant barriers in doing so. The vast majority of schools welcome parent involvement, but with short parent meetings (for which both sides struggle to find time), it’s hard to know exactly what to do.
As an educator it is my job to make sure that parents are informed about their child or children. So we can address the matters and attempt to help with whatever is going on. I also feel like it is important for teachers to reach out to parents when things are going good. When a student’s grades change for the positive, I also think contact should be made. I think that teachers should find out what means of communication works best for the parent. Maybe the parent works a lot and can only read an email or take a quick phone call at lunch. As a teacher you have to be flexible for the parents in many
Parent involvement affects all aspects of a child’s education. Parents must be involved as teachers, learners, supporters, and advocates of their child’s learning (Hopkings). Studies show that kids who know that their parents are involved and interested tend to take more responsibility for their own learning and behavior. Schoolwork and grades improve. Work habits improve. Less work is handed in late. Fewer referrals for behavior problems are made. Attendance increases, and fewer kids show up late for class (Hopkings). With all this information documented it shows the true importance of parent involvement in education. The more involved the parents are, the better off each child will be. So when you become a parent, get involved in your child’s education!
In the past decade homeschooling has grown in America much more than we could estimate, 1.5 million students are now learning at home, that’s a 75% increase from 1999, Parents have become more unsatisfied by the public schooling systems and its effects on their children concerned that their children could be exposed to violence, bullying or even drugs.
A lot of children have two main educators in their life; their parents and their teachers. Parents are their first educators, the majority of what a child learns in the first few years of their life is taught by their parents. It is only when the child starts to attend an early years setting that they start to learn from another educator. Both parents and teachers continue being a major influence on their children's learning all throughout school and for the rest of their lives. The parents and the child's school both have important roles to play in the child's education and should therefore work together as a team. Parents can get involved in many different ways such as; getting involved with the school itself by helping in the classroom or supervising lunch and break times, or for those parents who work in the day and cannot find the time to help at the school they can get involved by; reading to their child at home, assisting with homework and other learning activities, teaching them songs or nursery rhymes and letting them help with everyday tasks like cooking, baking and chores. This can be categorised as: Involvement of parents in the school life or involvement of parents in supporting the individual child at home.
Some parents think that once their children are at school, they can relax and let the education system take control. But this is not the case at all. As research shows, parents have an even greater influence on their children’s academic results than the school does. Most of a child’s ability to communicate, to relate to teachers and peers and their attitude to learning, is formed from home. Parents can help give their children a head start, by beginning their education at home.
Parent involvement is one of the most influential aspects of student motivation. The parents are the initial teachers of the child before the child goes to school and encounters education through a teacher. If a parent is completely engaged in the learning process with a child, there can be growth between the child and the parent simultaneously. The parents set an example for the child, so that the child understands that help is in the classroom and at home. Alma Wright, a first and second grade teacher, believes that parents in the classroom are a good way to stimulate children. She says, “Their active participation is a positive influence. The school is open for parents to share their talents and motivate their children” (Drew, Olds, and Olds, 1974, p. 71).